Apparatus for rendering lard



(No Model.)

D. W. MGELROY.

APPARATUS POR RENDERING LARD, Aw.

N. Ferias. whom hammam. wnhingmm n. c

UNITED STATES DAVID w, MCELEOY,

PATENT OEI-ECE0 or kEokuk, Iowa.

APPARATUS FOR RENDERING LARD, 84C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,821, dated June 3, 1884.

Application filed April 1l 1854.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID IV. MCELROY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Keokuk, in the county of Lee and State of Iowa, have invented c ertain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Rendering Lard, &c., of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in tanks or apparatus for rendering lard, tallow, or any kind of grease by steam.

The object of my invention is to provide a rendering-tank which will'vprevent the refuse material from becoming clogged or packed in the bottom of the tank, and at the same time provide means by which the refuse Inatter can be readily discharged from the tank; and to this end my invention consists in providing the rendering-tank with a grating or false bottom, said grating or bottom being composed of slats or perforated plates pivoted to the valve-operating shaft or rod in such a manner that they will fold together or be collapsible, and thus allow the refuse matter to fall therefrom down through the opening at the bottom of the tank, whereby the tank is quickly emptied of its contents and readily cleaned.

My invention consists, further, in certain details of construction, which will be fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional view of my improved rendering-tank. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a pivoted and swinging cover for man-hole.

Ais the main body of the tank, made of plates of wrought-iron riveted together, so as to be perfectly steam-tight. A

B and C are the upper and lower heads, respectively. Ihey are by preference made of cast-iron, and are firmly bolted or riveted to the main body or shell A. The head B is of oval form, and is provided with a central aperture, through which the valve-operating rod or bar D passes. The head B is also provided with a man-hole, E, through which the material to be rendered is charged into the tank. The lower head, C, is tapering or cone-shaped, and is provided with a central aperture having a recess or shoulder, a, on its inner surface, 'to

(No model.)

form a seat for the cone-shaped valve F. The valve F is secured to the rod D by screwthreads, so as to be raised and lowered by said rod to open and close the hole in the bottom of the tank, while a cap, G, carried by the lower screw-th readed portion of the rod, serv es to draw up the valve F tightly upon seat a. The upper end of the rod D is also screwthreaded, and passes up through a stuffing or packing box, H, secured to the head B, to the upper end of which is secured the hand-wheel I, by means of which the rodhis raised or lowered.

K is a grating or perforated false bottom divided in two sections, the inner edges of which are pivoted to thel rod D, while their outer edges rest on the ledge b, or on any other suitable support.

c and d are bars or links pivoted to the under side of the grating, to each other, and to the inner side of the head C at e. These links serve to guide the gratings in their descent, so that their edges will rest on the ledge.

It will be noticed that when the grating is raised to the position shown in dotted lines the refuse matter will be precipitated downward and out through the opening in the bottom or head C, thus enabling the operator to discharge the contents of the tank and cleanse it in short time. It will be noticed, further, that when the grating or false bottom is in position to receive the charge of material to be rendered it presents a broad holdingvsurface nearly equal to the greatest internal diameter of the tank, and the steam from beneath is free to penetrate to every particle of the material to be treated, which is not the case in otherLrendering-tanks where theyhave cone-shaped strainers orbottoms. In these devices just referred to the material is apt to pack or concentrate within or around the cone, and the material cannot be subjected uniformly to the reducing action of steam and pressure. As before stated, the steam is admitted beneath the grating or false bottom K, and supplied with steam through the pipe M,which is connected to the steam-boiler.

N is the cover for the man-hole, which is pivoted to the screw-rod O, said screw-rod being passed up through the bracket to receive IOO 2 Y Y Y 299,821

the hand-wheel Q, by means of which the cover is raised or lowered to open or close the manhole,while the pivoted connection of the cover N to the rod O enables the operator to tilt the cover, so that the material can be readily passed into the tank. The cover N and valve F being placed on the inside of the tank makes it possible for a greater amount of heat and pressure to be brought to bear on the material to be treated without doing violence to the tank or blowing off the valves than has heretofore been done in this class of tanks, for it will be noticed that the greater the pressure in the tank the closer will be the joints around the cover and valve. The lank is provided with suitable legs or supports, It, which may be cast with or otherwise secured to head C.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modication of a device for securing the lid or valve in the man-hole. In this instance the bracket which Vsupports the lid is pivoted at one side of the v hole to the head of the tank by a screw orbolt,

S, which enables the operator to withdraw the lid from the man-hole and draw it up by screw to rest 4in place upon ledges provided in bracket, and swing it around to one side out of the way.

T T are the lard-cocks, through which .the

l, lard or other material is drawn from the tank.

They have a straight way, and are not liable to be choked up.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. In a rendering-tank or other analogous device, a false or supplemental bottom, substantially such as described, and of essentially the same diameter as the greatest internal diameter of the tank, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a rendering-tank, a false or supplemental bottom, on which the material to be treated is placed, said bottom being composed of two or more slotted or perforated and folding sections pivoted to an operating shaft or rod, and adapted to be raised and folded so as to permit the refuse matter to fall into and through the bottom of the tank, as set forth.

3. In a rendering-tank, a false orsupplemental bottom composed of two or more folding slotted or perforated sections pivoted to an operating-rod, as described, in combination with the links c d, as and for the purpose set forth. l

4'. In a rendering-tank, a false or supplemental folding or flexible bottom,substantially such as described, pivoted to an operating-rod, as set forth, in combination with the links c .d and ledge b, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A rendering-tank provided with a central shaft, D, and operating-wheel I, in combination with the folding bottom K and valve T, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID W. MOELROY.

Vitn esses WILLIAM FULTON, NV. J. FULTON. 

